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whispered about, that Father John O’Mulconry, as the people 
still called him, was endued with the hereditary bardic power 
of banishing the rats by satire. In the meantime an inter- 
ment took place, at which the Rey. gentleman himself offici- 
ated, and seemed horror-stricken at what he saw. This was 
in the autumn of the year ; and in a few days after, an honest 
respectable farmer, named John Foley, who lived at Querin, 
about four miles to the east of the Church of Kilferagh—the 
end of a large bog intervening—was out onan early morning 
to look after his cattle and his corn-fields, which skirted the 
same bog. While thus engaged, he noticed a rather thick and 
low fog or mist, confined to a narrow breadth, but extending in 
length almost across the bog. Surprised at such a phenome- 
non, he stood to observe it more closely ; but his surprise was 
soon increased when he perceived it moving directly towards 
him, and with remarkable velocity. Heimmediately thought 
of his hitherto invisible neighbours, the fairies; and, thinking 
it would be as well not to stand in their way, he ran as fast as 
__ he could to get out of their line of march, which, having suc- 
7 ceeded in doing, he turned to have a view of them. But his 
surprise was much greater at seeing in this mist a long com- 
pact train of rats, numbering hundreds of thousands, and 
erushing to the ground everything in the way of plant or 
shrub that opposed their progress. They quickly climbed over 
_the walls or ditches of John Foley’s corn-field, which was near- 
est to the bog, and passed straight through it, entering another 
and another of his fields in direct succession, and trampling 
tothe ground the corn to the full breadth of their front, which 
was several yards. ‘They passed on then through Querin, di- 
rectly to the flat, low accumulation of sand which is called 
Querin Head, and which forms within it the handsome fishing- 
cove of Querin, about six miles below Kilrush, on the Clare 
side of the Shannon, and about five miles from Kilferagh 
Church. Having reached the ‘ Head,’ they immediately 
buried themselves deep beneath the dry sand; there they re- 
